A Letter to Be More Chill

I love Be More Chill. I know most people make videos describing what this show means to them. I do not have a platform to do so and I believe my feelings are better described in the written word. I am absolutely devastated that such an amazing show is closing. At the same time, I am so glad that this show made it to Broadway and had this unprecedented journey.

Now, I will start at the beginning. I was a little late to the show fandom. I regrettably was not one of those kids who saw the show at Two River Theatre or found the Original Cast Recording in 2015. I did not discover the show until January of this year. My way into the show actually happened to be Mr. Will Roland. I had recently become obsessed with Dear Evan Hansen so when I found that the Insanely Cool Jared Kleinman was starring in a showing opening on Broadway soon, I thought I should check it out. I found the More than Survive Rehearsal footage and was instantly hooked. I have probably seen that video a thousand times. From there, I listened to the entire soundtrack. I fell in love with it. I listened to it all the time. My original plan was the wait for the highly anticipated Original Broadway Cast Recording to buy the soundtrack. I soon found out that I loved the show too much to wait for it to come out so I purchased the Ghostlight Records soundtrack. I learned every word and became completely enamored with the story and the characters. I followed all the social media and watched every single of George Salazar's backstage vlogs for Broadway.com.

By the beginning of March, my family had decided that we were going to take a trip to New York City in July of this year. I was ecstatic. As my birthday is in March, I told my sister that for my birthday she would buy a ticket to see the matinee performance of the show on July 27th with me. I bought my ticket with my own money and could not have been more excited. When the show opened on March 10th, I watched the live stream with Eric William Morris. I was so excited for everyone involved especially for those making their Broadway debuts. I was counting the days until I would finally see it.

I listened to the soundtracks religiously. None of my friends are really into musical theatre and I constantly found myself trying to make references to the show that no one understood. Then the OBCR came out and I was so happy. It was so amazing to see all the changes, not just of the actors but with the new songs and character development. It was amazing. I then proceeded to learn the new soundtrack. Everytime I sing it I have to make a conscious choice on which version to sing because I love them both so much.

Then it came for July and I was beyond excited to see the show! I listened to the soundtrack on loop on my flights. I also listened to episodes of the "How to Be More Chill" podcast. The moments about George modulating Michael in the Bathroom at auditions and Will fixing his kitchen router just killed me. I highly suggest checking it out. It shows just how real the show is and how much the cast has put into it.

When I walked into the theatre I couldn't believe it was really happening. All of the cute quotes in the theatre stairwells were such a nice touch. I can't even describe what it felt like seeing the show I had heard and dreamt about for so long. It was surreal. I was actually seeing all of these actors in person. I couldn't believe it. The performance surpassed all of my wildest dreams and expectations. Will's Jeremy is so adorable and real. I believe every minute of his performance and really felt for him. Do not even get me started on George. There were so many little comedic moments in the show I was not expecting. It was hilarious. It made clear any and all questions I had from just listening to the soundtrack. Christine's character arc was so much more beautiful and developed than I knew and I really fell in love with Stephanie's portrayal. The staging, the lighting, the sound effects, it was simply indescribable. Especially, when the S.Q.U.I.P. gets destroyed at the end of the play. It was amazing. Also, Jason Tam's costume changes were hilarious. When "Voices in My Head" began I was so happy but also devastated because I knew it was the end of the show and I would never get to see this particular production again. The end was just as captivating as the beginning. Side note: people began leaving during curtain call to get a spot at the stage door. I had to admit I was furious, that is beyond rude. I understand that you want to get your Playbills signed but leaving during the part when we finally get to thank these actors and crew for doing such a fantastic job made me so mad. Anyways, little rant over. Where was I, oh right, stage door. It was high temperatures that day so I understood that not many actors were coming out. We did get Anthony Chatmon II (who was Rich for this performance), Jason SweetTooth Williams, and George Salazar. I had a very fun conversation with Jason about his gingivitis costume in the Halloween scene. It was a great experience being able to interact with the actors like that.